The social change sparked by the #MeToo movement has not translated to the UK’s financial sector, with sexual harassment merely shifting away from the office to conferences and work trips, MPs have heard.
A summary of private hearings held as part of the Treasury committee’s sexism in the City inquiry showed that, while a small number of women said workplaces had become more inclusive in recent years, the majority felt the Square Mile was still an “old boys’ club” with widespread misconduct and misogyny.
The women who gave evidence to MPs said that sexist “banter” had reduced, but that misogynistic attitudes remained “widespread” and behaviour had instead become “more underhand and pernicious”.
The Treasury committee was left with the impression that the #MeToo movement had failed to influence change across City firms. Most women who appeared before the hearing in November said that sexual harassment remained commonplace, having either directly experienced harassment or knowing colleagues who had.
The movement gathered pace in 2017 as women in all industries across the world began sharing personal stories of sexual harassment on social media.
In the committee’s evidence, the women interviewed said the big difference since then was that perpetrators were targeting women outside the office, including at conferences and drinks events, or while on work trips.
The Prudential Regulation Authority boss, Sam Woods, told MPs on Wednesday that it was “very disturbing to see that those sorts of things are still occurring in the sector that we all work in”.
The committee member and Labour MP Angela Eagle told City regulators that there had been “a lot of buck-passing” and “box-ticking” but precious little progress in making the workplace a safer place for women.
But when asked what more could be done to keep “bad apples” out of the City , the Financial Conduct Authority’s chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, said a lack of a set list of non-financial offences that would automatically disqualify an individual from working in the City – which required legislation – had made it difficult to ban even convicted child groomers from the sector.
Rathi was referring to a 2021 case in which FCA’s upper tribunal said one man’s conviction over child sexual grooming was not enough to automatically prohibit him from employment in finance. “It means that we have to, in each case, demonstrate that the conviction or the conduct is sufficiently relevant to the financial services role that they are performing.”
Male colleagues who witnessed inappropriate behaviour were often privately supportive of victims but would rarely call it out, or take steps to intervene. They only helped victims avoid those known to act badly, rather than tackling the behaviour head on, the interviewees said.
Women also said they thought that non-disclosure agreements – or gagging orders – were still widely being used to make problems “go away” and to avoid damaging firms’ reputations. It had the effect of silencing victims, ensuring that they could not share their experiences, and ultimately removing an incentive for firms to take action to prevent sexual harassment.
And while there had been a drop in overt sexism in the workplace, including sexist “office banter”, women thought that misogynistic mindsets were still widespread, but that behaviour had instead become “more underhand and pernicious”, the committee said.
Although some said younger male colleagues were often more supportive, they quickly began to emulate the behaviour of older, more senior staff. That included participating in a drinking culture, which often put pressure on non-drinkers to take part. However, this was also the kind of event where the worst behaviour towards women was reported.
The women who shared their experience put forward recommendations to tackle continuing sexism, including making sure pay and bonuses were more closely tied to diversity and inclusion efforts, and requiring firms to report the number of gagging orders used in sexual misconduct cases.
They also called for credible threats or fines and penalties for perpetrators or those condoning sexual misconduct, as well as ensuring that regulators reviewed sexual misconduct when determining whether employees were “fit and proper” to take senior roles.
FCA bosses confirmed on Wednesday that it was still legal for victims to call the regulator’s whistleblowing hotline to disclose misconduct, even after they signed an NDA.
